Health Check-Ups & Prevention

How to Use the % Daily Value on Food Labels to Choose the Healthiest Product

Confused about how to use food labels to make
healthier choices at the grocery store? You’re not alone. A recent survey showed that 51%
of Canadians are confused about how to read food labels. Today we will be focusing on the % daily value
section of the food label. The % DV is a guide to help you choose healthier
foods. The % DV shows you if a specific amount of food has a little or a lot of a nutrient.
• 5% DV or less is a little • 15% DV or more is a lot
The % DV is not meant to track your total nutrient intake for the day. This is because
some of the foods you eat (like vegetables, fruit, and fresh meat) don’t have a Nutrition
Facts table. You can use the % DV to:
– Figure out which products are higher in the nutrients you want more of, and lower
in the nutrients you want less of. For most cancer survivors, here are some nutrients
you may want… More of
• fibre • vitamin A
• calcium • iron
Less of • fat
• saturated and trans fats • sodium
• Then you can use the %DV to compare products to see which product is a healthier choice.
• Don’t forget to check out the serving size!
(Show example of comparing 2 types of crackers) Its important to check out the serving size when reading nutrition labels. You may eat more or less than the serving size This means you may eat more or less than the % DV for each nutrient on the nutrition label To properly compare foods, make sure the serving size is similar. Let’s compare these two different types of crackers. Cracker A has more than 15% of fibre. That’s a lot. Cracker B has less than 5% of fibre. That’s a little Cracker A has less than 5 percent saturated fat, that’s a little. Cracker B has more than 15% saturated fat. That’s a lot. Cracker A was the healthier choice, because it was higher in fibre, and lower in saturated fat. Have a nutrition question you want answered? Ask in the comments below and we may feature it in an upcoming video!